Deep Dark Hole
by dragonprincess1988
Summary: Tim, Dick, and Jason face a super-charged meta.


They can't hide anymore...not like this, and not here. They're all too beat up and have lost too much blood to move right now, but it's not like they have a lot of options. Dick's been out for the past 15 minutes, and it doesn't look like he's going to regain consciousness any time soon, which means it's up to Jason and Tim to get him to safety. Baby bird is surprisingly good at first-aid with the bare minimum of supplies. Dick isn't bleeding out anymore, which is the only good thing to happen so far, but Tim's leg is still dripping blood profusely, and Tim's looking a lot paler than normal. Jason helps him move into a sitting position, as much as he can with his dislocated shoulder. "Are you going to be okay? I really don't think that we're going to survive this if you pass out on me too."

Tim nods as he ties another makeshift bandage around his leg. He's already wearing one that's soaked through with blood, and Jason is pretty sure that the only reason Tim didn't change the bandage all together is because he can't afford to let the pressure up even for a minute. It's also possible that he doesn't want Jason to see how bad the leg really is, but it's not like any of that matters right now. The chances that all three of them are going to make it out of this hole alive are decreasing by the second.

Tim finishes trying to stem the bleeding from his leg, and then hobbles his way over to Jason. Before Jason can even ask what the hell the kid thinks he's doing, Tim grabs his dislocated shoulder, waits for the instinctual tension to leave, and then pops Jason's arm back into place. It hurts like hell, but Jason just grunts through it. It's not the first time that it's happened, and he's got more important things to worry about. Tim moves to help Jason remove his shirt, so that he can take care of the deep lacerations across Jason's left side without saying a word. It's a struggle with the shoulder, but they manage it well enough, all things considered. After Tim finishes patching up the obvious wounds on Jason's front, he slides behind Jason to check his back. "I'm fine. You don't need to..." Before he can even finish the sentence, Tim is poking at a rather tender spot on his lower back. "I was hit, wasn't I? Shit, I didn't even notice it until you started prodding at it. Is it bad?"

Tim shakes his head behind him, and the only reason Jason knows that is because he can feel the kid's hair brushing over his naked back as Tim bends down to get a better look at the wound. "If you don't start talking, I'm going to start thinking that that meta took your voice as well as our pride when he kicked our asses." Jason would just normally threaten to kick the kid's ass, but after what they've just been through, he doesn't think that either of them are up to even faking a spar right now.

Tim coughs, and then whispers, "Sorry, but it still hurts to talk. It's not that bad; probably need some stitches though."

Jason bends over more to make it easier for Tim to work. "It still hurts to talk? What the hell did he do...crush your windpipe? And don't pass out while you're stitching me up, 'cause that'll just piss me off."

Tim nods once as he starts to sew up the wound. "Didn't crush my windpipe, but the smoke...couldn't get to my rebreather fast enough since I was..."

"Too busy trying not to die, and trying to get Dickie bird out of harm's way...yeah, I hear you, but even with the smoke inhalation, I thought you'd be okay by now."

Tim shrugs as he finishes working. "Not like I really need my voice right now. We are trying to hide and all."

"Speaking of which," Jason pulls his tattered shirt back on, carefully minding his still sore shoulder. "What's the plan? There's still an enraged, super-charged meta up there smashing everything in sight while he hunts us down, and we can't hide out in this hole forever. Dick probably needs serious medical care after that bastard crushed him, and you're not looking so hot after he shot you, beat you to hell, and tried to light you on fire. Nice job pissing him off, by the way."

"How was I supposed to know plastique was only going to make him angry?" Tim coughs out as he moves back in front of Jason, and checks his leg again. He hasn't bled through the second bandage yet, but Tim still doesn't look good, and Dick is still unconscious. "I can distract him while you get Dick to safety."

Jason doesn't like the sound of that plan...not one bit. "Yeah, call me crazy, but that sure as hell sounds like suicide from where I'm sitting."

Tim shakes his head and glances back over at Dick to make sure that he's still doing okay. "I'm having problems putting pressure on my leg. There's no way all three of us are going to be able to get past him...not like this anyway. You can't carry both of us, and there's no way I'm going to be able to carry Dick out of here by myself. It's the only logical option. We need to get the hell out of this hole. You need to get Dick somewhere safe, and I'm probably not going to be able to keep going much longer, so the sooner that you get him out of here the sooner you can come back for me, and I do expect you to come back, so no suicide missions here."

Jason really can't see any other way out of this, but that doesn't mean that he has to like it. The first thing that bastard did was take out their communications, but the joke's on him, because most of the other heroes are currently off-world anyway, so it's not like there's really anyone for them to call. Jason was the freakin' backup-and well...they're stuck in a hole, and there's no way all three of them can make it out, and everything's going to hell-so it's not like he's a whole hell of a lot of help right now.

Begrudgingly, Jason nods his consent to their so-called plan. "Okay, fine, but if we're going to do this, then we're doing it the smart way. I'm not just going to let you hobble out there with no protection."

Tim scans the surroundings of their itty bitty sanctuary. They used most of their supplies just to get to this hole and hide out. "Okay, I assume you have a plan."

Jason nods as he starts to gather together what little supplies they have left. "I say we make a decent sized bomb out of everything that we have, and then you use that along with anything you can find as a projectile weapon. I don't want you getting in any closer than you absolutely have to. You'll have to wait until we can get clear to use the bomb, and you'll have to find whatever cover you can, but this can work."

Tim takes a moment to think the plan over before speaking. "I can probably only give you a few minutes before it'll become necessary to use the bomb. I'm thinking five at the most, but three minutes is probably more likely."

Jason stares down at Tim's leg. "Do you really think that you can hold him off that long? I mean, your range of motion right now isn't optimal, and..."

Before Jason gets a chance to finish Tim cuts in. "Don't worry about me. I'll get you at least 3 minutes...just make sure that you get Dick clear."

Jason wants to protest more than anything, especially since they both know that the bomb won't kill the meta...hell, it probably won't even slow him down all that much-but his hands are tied. This really is their only way out, and whether Tim can actually hold off the over-powered meta is completely up to him. All Jason can do is get Dick to safety as fast as humanly possible and come back for Tim before he's a smear on the ground. This isn't going to work, and Jason is pretty sure that Tim knows that, too. After all, Jason was the Robin known for over estimating himself...not Tim. He has to know-just as well as Jason, if not more so-how screwed they all really are. Reluctantly, Jason starts making the bomb. He knows that Tim can do this just as well as he can, if not better, but it gives him something to do...something to distract himself from the situation at hand.

He should probably be saving his strength or some other such bullshit. After all, lugging Dick out of this hole isn't going to be any kind of picnic. Jason guesses he should just be thankful that their hole is more of a cave, but neither one of them have said such, because then that just makes them miss certain things, like real medical supplies, even more. If Jason is really lucky, Tim won't pass out before he manages to at least get Dick outside, and maybe he shouldn't be thinking like that-especially since it seems like Tim can tell what he's thinking. Or, maybe it's just time to check his bandage again...Jason doesn't know.

When the bomb is made, and Jason has wasted as much time as he possibly can with double checking Dick's injuries, he turns to Tim with the most solemn expression he can muster. This is wrong...this feels wrong...they should find another way. It doesn't matter that Jason has been trying to think of one for the entire time that they've been in this deep dark hole, and he knows that Tim has been, too. "Well, here goes nothing." Handing Tim the thrown-together bomb shouldn't feel like signing his death warrant-or maybe it should. Jason doesn't know anymore. All he knows is that he doesn't have any other choice here. Tim gave him the facts, and it wasn't like he wasn't thinking all of those completely logical things himself before Tim even spoke them. This is their only option. It still doesn't mean that Jason has to be okay with it.

Jason doesn't watch as Tim walks out of their hiding spot. Instead, he turns to pick up Dick in a fireman's carry. It's not the best thing for Dick's injured body, but it is the best way to carry him if they want to make a quick escape, which for Tim's sake they better. It doesn't matter that his blood is rushing and his heart is pounding. Jason can still hear Tim's shuffled footsteps as he leaves the relative safety of their little hole, and Jason tries not to think about it. Thinking is only going to make his job harder; and with Dick's weight pressing down on him, Jason can't imagine anything harder than what he's about to do.

Jason waits the agreed upon 30 seconds and then heads out of their dark sanctuary. He promised Tim that no matter what he saw he'd just keep moving, and get Dick to safety, but as Jason watches the meta closing in on Tim, who's doing a fabulous job of swinging insults as well as rocks at the guy, his feet stall. He wants nothing more than to put Dick down right here, and jump into help, but he can't. It wouldn't do any good. He'd just get all three of them killed, and besides, Jason promised Tim, and well, they both knew it was more of a last request than anything else. It doesn't stop the onslaught of emotions from running through him, though. He doesn't like owing anyone anything, and soon Jason's going to be owing Tim his life. He just hopes that Tim lives long enough for Jason to repay him.

He's pretty sure that they're most of the way clear when he hears the detonation, but Dick and he still get pummeled by the debris raining down on them. Jason does his best to duck behind a large boulder, and shield Dick from most of the detritus. "Sorry, Dickie bird, but it looks like this is as close to safety as you get right now. I'm going back for baby bird." Jason props Dick up in a position that shouldn't be too bad for his injuries, and makes sure that he's out of the way, before Jason runs back to help Tim.

There's no sign of Tim or the meta when Jason gets back to the place where he had last seen the two of them. The entire place looks leveled, and Jason knows for a fact that they didn't have enough stuff to make the explosion that large, so either Tim was holding out on him or the meta was...either way Jason isn't sure that he's going to find a body for either of them. He searches anyway. He isn't foolish enough to call Tim's name, but he sure as hell wants to. Jason is almost positive that he wouldn't get a response, but it would make him feel better.

Jason starts sifting through the remains of the battle field. The ground is still warm from the explosion, and Jason isn't exactly sure why he's bothering. Tim's probably dead, Dick will most likely be as well, and Jason is left having to explain to Bruce-when he gets back-how the hell two of his sons ended up dead with Jason as backup. It's not a conversation anyone looks forward to, but Jason hasn't spent enough time on Bruce's good side to go back to that disappointed and disgusted look so soon-although, Jason knows that he deserves it. This is his fault. He just isn't sure how yet. He knows he should have found another way to get all three of them out, but he just isn't sure what that way was. Not that any of that matters right now, because Jason needs to at least find some kind of remains to take back to Bruce. After all, it's the least he can do.

Jason shifts some larger pieces of rock, and finds a hand...just a hand...a distinctly Tim sized hand that's bloody, and torn up. Jason isn't prepared enough to dig deeper. He doesn't want to find out if there's anything beyond just the hand or what state the rest of Tim is in...if the rest of Tim is even still attached at all. Suddenly Jason feels the need to vomit. He's having flashbacks from the explosion after Joker beat him with a crowbar, and he really can't go through that right now. He sucks in as much air as possible and convinces his stomach to just deal. There's a long moment where Jason just kneels with his hands on his thighs, trying to get through the next couple of seconds. He's going to have to find someway to break the news to Dick, assuming that Dick makes it through, as well.

Before Jason can work himself up to a good brooding session the hand twitches-and he knows that it could just be a trick of his imagination, but if it isn't, then he doesn't have time to sit here feeling nauseous. Jason starts digging with his hands as quickly as he can. He claws at the dirt getting in his way, and ignores the flashbacks of crawling out of his own grave, as much as possible. When he uncovers Tim's face, Jason isn't sure that he's still breathing, but he can't do anything about that until he finishes his excavation. When he finally manages to pull Tim free of the rubble, Jason lays him down on his back and checks for a pulse. It's weak, but it's there. He's breathing, so all Jason needs to worry about now is all of the blood everywhere. The kid sure as hell looks like he was blown up, and Jason doesn't have a clue as to how he's going to get all three of them out of here...not a single fucking one.

Jason removes his tattered t-shirt, and tries to find the most serious looking injury. There's too much blood for him to tell where it's all coming from, and for all he knows the leg wound from earlier is now the cause of most of the problem. He finds a large wound on Tim's lower right side that seems to be gushing blood, and Jason presses his dirty shirt to it in the hopes of helping Tim, at least a little. Jason isn't sure Tim is going to make it. He looks like a mangled mess, and Jason is refusing to look past all of the blood to see the extent of the damage. He just needs Tim to hold out long enough for Jason to figure something out. Although, Jason isn't sure that there's anything to figure out. If only he could call Superman or something, but he's off-world with Bruce.

The moment that the thought runs through his mind, Jason wants to smack himself upside the head, but he can't really afford to take the pressure off of Tim's wound. Superboy is still on earth...somewhere, and although he hasn't really spent any time with the kid, Jason has been told that he's just as good as Superman in a pinch, and right now Jason just really hopes that his super hearing is up to par with Superman's. "Superboy, if you can hear me you should get here as fast as you fucking can! Tim is probably going to die, otherwise!" Maybe it wasn't necessary for him to add that part, but well, it's not like it isn't true, and Tim's said that their friends, so he figures a little incentive can't hurt.

A handful of painstakingly long seconds passes, and Jason thinks that he's probably being ignored, because, while the Bat family is okay with him now, most of the rest of the superhero community isn't. That never really bothered him up until now. He was out of his mind and did some crazy shit, and okay, yeah, so he still doesn't necessarily believe that killing the dirt bags on the street is a bad thing, but he stopped killing and follows Bruce's orders like all good little Robins are supposed to. He doesn't even say that shit out loud anymore. And he's doing better, so there's really no reason for everyone to continue hating him, and there's certainly no reason for Superboy to let his best friend die just because Jason was screwed up in the head.

He's about to scream his lungs out some more for help, but before Jason gets a chance, there's a sound of rocks crumbling behind him, and he knows better than to hope that it's Superboy. Jason turns to find one large blue hand reaching out of the dirt. He knew it was too much to ask that the stupid meta be taken out by the explosion, or at least rendered unconscious until Jason managed to get Tim out of here. Jason doesn't have a lot of options left. He's going to have to release the pressure on Tim's wound, hope that Tim can last long enough for Jason to deal with the guy, and hopefully Jason can make it out of this alive himself. It's kind of the story of his life, though...do all the work to keep people alive, and then end up getting everyone-including himself-killed.

Jason gets up, and faces the spot where a huge blue super-charged meta is about to come bursting out of the ground. He tries once again to get Superboy's attention. "Look, I don't know what the hell you're doing that's so fucking important, but Tim-you know, your best friend-is about to die, Dick is probably going to die, too, and I'm definitely about to end up six feet underground...again. I know that last one means nothing to you, but do you really want to deal with Batman's wrath when he finds out that Tim and Dick are dead, because I can guarantee you that that's going to be hell."

Jason takes a deep breath to continue his screaming rant at the sky, but before he gets a chance the meta manages to get himself free from the ground. "Okay, fine, ignore me, but when Tim dies, you don't have the right to shed a tear. Do you hear me, you coward?"

Jason squares his shoulders, and gets ready to take on the meta. He's nowhere near as fast as Tim, but he thinks that he can probably dodge most of his attacks. The guy is big and slow, but not nearly slow enough for his size, and certainly not slow enough for Jason who is tired, beat up, and an emotional wreck right now. The meta roars at him like some kind of feral animal, and normally Jason would have some kind of snarky remark for that type of behavior, but he's just not in the mood. He's about to lose everything that he spent years fighting against, and even longer fighting to get back.

The meta hurls a large boulder at him, and Jason just barely manages to get out of the way. He's way more exhausted than he thought he was, and he's moving far too sluggishly to survive. The meta is even more enraged now than when they started, and Jason isn't so sure that he's going to be able to hold out much longer, but as he glances back at Tim, who's having trouble breathing now, he knows that he has to at least try. Jason moves in to attack the meta, and draw him away from Tim's prone form. If he gets Tim crushed in the ensuing fight, there won't be anything left to save. Jason hits with as much force as he can muster, drawing back once he's on the other side of the guy, and drawing him further and further away from the blast site.

Jason's dodging as much as he possibly can, trying to stay out of the meta's range, but even if he weren't injured and exhausted, he's pretty sure that it would still be difficult. He goes to move as the meta's large blue fist comes crashing down toward him, but Jason isn't quick enough, and he gets thrown to the ground with the blow. Jason can't get back up in enough time, and he feels the meta's foot impact with his ribs. He can feel his already sore ribs give way to the force of the blow...can hear them snap under the pressure. Jason isn't sure how many are broken, but that doesn't matter right now, because he needs to get up...needs to keep moving. Jason attempts to get to his hands and knees, but he can't, and he can see the shadow of the monster meta's foot coming towards him again. He's going to be crushed, and there's nothing that Jason can do about it. He prepares himself for the flood of pain, but instead of hearing all of the bones in his body breaking Jason hears the sound of a loud high pitched whistle.

The meta stops mid-step and turns toward the sound. Jason manages to turn his head just enough to see Dick standing in his shredded costume. He looks about as bad as Jason feels, but he's there, and for some reason relief is flowing through Jason even as the meta rushes toward Dick. Jason manages to get to a standing position. If he's lucky he can get the stupid meta to come after him while Dick gets Tim to relative safety. "Hey, ugly over here!" Jason picks up a rock a to throw at him.

The meta turns back around toward Jason, while Jason tries to distract the meta. He takes a moment to make sure that Dick is taking the hint, and getting Tim the hell out of here. Dick looks really torn between helping Jason and grabbing Tim, but when Jason nods at him to get the hell out of here he reluctantly picks Tim up and starts moving. Jason is so happy and relieved that he completely fails to get out of the way before the meta can grab him around the throat. The guy is completely blocking his airway, and it's not long before Jason's vision is swimming with dark spots. He's going to pass out, but it's okay because Dick will make sure that Tim gets to safety, and he's pretty sure that Dick will be okay now, so Jason did his job.

Jason can tell that it's only seconds before he blacks out, and oddly enough he's kind of okay with that. Before he blacks out though the meta lets out a terrible scream and drops him. Jason falls to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. Jason can hear the sounds of fighting going on behind him, but he can't see what's going on through his blurry vision and the dust cloud forming around whoever is currently fighting with the meta. Before Jason manages to catch his breath, though, there's another one of those loud screams coming from the meta, a flash of bright red light, and then there's just silence. When Jason tries to get to his feet, he stumbles-but before he can hit the ground again, someone wraps their arms around him, and helps him back to his feet. "Sorry it took me so long to get here, but there was this volcano, and..." Superboy pauses while looking down at Jason. "Why are you shirtless?"

Jason doesn't even have the energy to roll his eyes right now. "It's not important. Thanks for coming. You should go help Tim and Dick. They went that way." Jason points in the direction he saw Dick carrying Tim.

Superboy nods at him before he picks Jason up, and throws him over his shoulder. "Yeah, okay, but I don't think that you're doing so great yourself. I think that I'll just take you with me."

Jason tries to protest...he really does, but before he can say anything his head starts to feel really heavy, and he passes out.

When Jason wakes up, he's in the cave, lying on a cold medical bed, and he feels like hell. He turns his head to this side and sees Tim lying on another medical bed beside him. The kid is hooked up to pretty much every machine they've got and he looks ten times worse than Jason feels. His legs and arms are completely covered in bandages, and Jason doesn't even want to know what the kid's torso looks like underneath the sheet that's covering him. Jason tries to sit up, but before he can there's a hand gently pushing him down. "Hey, Jay, how are you feeling?" Dick is standing beside his bed with bandages all over his face and hands. Jason saw the extent of most of the damage done to Dick before round two with the meta, so he knows exactly how messed up Dick is under his shirt.

Jason ignores Dick's question and gestures to Tim. "How's he doing?"

Dick glances over to Tim with the saddest expression that Jason has seen in awhile. "Well, he's in pretty bad shape. He apparently had some internal injuries before he went and got himself blown up. Bruce is pretty sure that he'll recover, though. He said that it didn't look like there should be any permanent damage. Also said that you were most likely the reason things didn't get any worse. You saved his life, Jason, and mine. You should be proud of yourself."

Jason doesn't know what to say. He was just doing his job. He was told to be backup and keep them safe, so that's what he did. "Um, yeah, I think I'm going to get some sleep. Maybe you should get some too, Dick."

Dick nods before returning to his seat between Jason's and Tim's bed. "Yeah, I will in a little while. I just wanted to make sure that you two were okay first." He settles down, clearly taking his time and being careful not to jostle any of his tender injuries. "Oh, and Jason? Thank you."

Jason doesn't say anything. He just closes his eyes. He's not sure when he became someone that other people thanked...especially his family, but he thinks that it's okay...maybe even better than okay. They're all alive, and they're all going to recover, and everything's going to be just fine. At least for a little while. Jason takes a deep refreshing breath, and doesn't think about the irony of how he just escaped one deep dark hole just to find himself in another. He relaxes back onto his medical bed, and thinks about all of the Alfred cookies he's going to eat once all of them are a little less beat up. Jason smiles to himself as he falls back to sleep.

The End


End file.
